A repatriation flight carrying 22 passengers who were on board a cruise ship hit by an outbreak of hantavirus has safely landed at Manchester Airport. The Titan Airways flight departed from Tenerife on the evening of Sunday, May 1o, before landing in Manchester shortly before 9 p.m. Passengers are now being quarantined to prevent further infections of the virus.
How were passengers safely repatriated?
All of those on on board the repatriation flight were passengers who had been evacuated from the MV Hondius, a cruise ship off the coast of Tenerife that was struck by an outbreak of hantavirus. The outbreak of the virus claimed the lives of three tourists on board and left the remaining passengers stranded before evacuations could safely begin.
The first passengers to be evacuated were a group of 14 Spanish nationals who were later flown to a hospital in Madrid. The British flight followed later the same day, consisting of 20 British nationals, one German national and one Japanese passenger. All had been tested for hantavirus before boarding the flight.
In an X Post, UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said:
“Thank you to all those who worked around the clock to get passengers from MV Hondius back to the UK by special flight this evening with public health protections in place. The UK has worked with Spain, South Africa, the Netherlands and the WHO to coordinate safe returns.”
What comes next?
The passengers aboard the repatriation flight have now been transported to an isolation facility at Arrowe Park Hospital on the Wirral, Merseyside. Within the next 72 hours, they will receive clinical assessments and testing, according to the UK Government.
Janelle Holmes, chief executive of Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, told the media that if passengers develop symptoms, they will be taken to Royal Liverpool University Hospital, which houses the regional Tropical and Infectious Diseases Unit.
What do you think about the handling of the evacuation efforts? Let us know in the comments below!
